Stationary fuel cell systems are used for backup power (see related analysis results), power for for remote locations, stand-alone power plants for towns and cities,
distributed generation for buildings, and co-generation (in which excess thermal energy
from electricity generation is used for heat). Systems are currently in operation
in states across the nation. One of the leading markets is in California, where NREL
works in partnership with the National Fuel Cell Research Center and the California Stationary Fuel Cell Collaborative to analyze and report on stationary fuel cell installations.

Participating partners share raw data with NREL via the National Fuel Cell Technology Evaluation Center. NREL engineers perform uniform analyses on the detailed data and then report on
their findings. While the raw data are secured by NREL to protect proprietary information,
individualized data analysis results are provided as detailed data products to the
partners who supplied the data. The results are also aggregated into publicly available
composite data products (CDPs) that show the status and progress of the technology,
but don't identify individual companies.